Articles

Encouraging prospects for gamefishing

July 26, 2015 New Zealand is fast becoming world renowned for trophy sized kingfish and lots of them. This is no accident. Management changes a decade ago, Mother Nature and the care shown by recreational fishers who release much of their kingfish catch have all contributed to the stock rebuild. Annual monitoring of kingfish length during the Bay […]

Important research into recreational fishing

June 29, 2015 Recreational fishing is more popular now than in 2007 and interest is growing. Results from the 2013/14 Active New Zealand survey ranks fishing as the second most popular recreation for men and ninth for women. Despite its popularity, no one knows how much our recreational fishing contributes to the national economy but that is about […]

South Island Blue cod reviews

June 29, 2015 There has been a Ministry for Primary Industries review of two Blue cod populations in the South Island recently, one in Fiordland and the other in the Marlborough Sounds. Deadline for submissions on the proposal to reopen Doubtful Sound, Fiordland, to recreational Blue cod fishing has now passed. There was also a simultaneous process to […]

Recreational fishing parks a distraction

June 28, 2015 Prior to last year’s election, National surprised us when they announced a policy to introduce two recreational fishing parks, one in the inner Hauraki Gulf and the other in the Marlborough Sounds. The promise was to exclude most commercial fishing and enhance fishing opportunities for Kiwi families. There was a mixed response. The lack of […]

Restoring abundance by reducing waste

June 27, 2015 Snapper is the species most often targeted by recreational anglers in New Zealand. In 2012 nationwide amateur harvest of snapper was estimated to be 4811 tonnes. This is more than the combined harvest of nine other popular species. Clearly, snapper is a resilient species, but stock levels are below where they should be and fishing […]

No sign of marine parks

June 26, 2015 Prior to last year’s election National surprised us when they announced a policy to introduce two recreational fishing parks, one in the inner Hauraki Gulf and the other in the Marlborough Sounds. The promise was to exclude most commercial fishing and enhance fishing opportunities for Kiwi families. There was a mixed response. The lack of […]

Opportunity lost in crayfish review

June 26, 2015 There are two outcomes from the recent crayfish management review process; both are bad news for non-commercial interests. Firstly, the Minister followed industry advice to maintain or increase commercial catch limits, and secondly, that under the current regime we are unlikely to see a rebuild of crayfish numbers along our coastline any time soon. Amongst […]

Ongoing celebrations for Supreme Court ruling

May 28, 2015 Recreational fishers are celebrating the sixth anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling that changed the fisheries management landscape in New Zealand. In a landmark decision in 2009, the Supreme Court confirmed the Minister for Primary Industries, Nathan Guy, can apply discretion and government policy when allocating the available fisheries resource between sectors. Fresh management decisions […]

Legends at the Auckland Boat Show

May 25, 2015 One of the most encouraging aspects of the recent Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show was the willingness of people to talk with our team and share their fishing experiences with us. If you were one of those people that visited our stand between the 14th and 17th May thanks for the stories, your support and […]

Unprecedented agreement in Marlborough fishery

April 28, 2015 For the first time in four years management of Marlborough Sounds Blue cod is being reviewed and LegaSea is encouraging recreational fishers to have their say on the future of this most prized fishery. A multi-stakeholder group, the Blue Cod Management Group, is seeking people’s views now before they develop potential management options to be […]